Nest

Google is introducing a new product today called Google Home. It is their entry into the voice-activated home assistant market. A market first entered by Amazon with the Echo. Voice activated virtual assistants began with the wonderfully named Siri by Apple. Simple, mellifluous and unlikely be to be confused with other words. The Amazon Echo is also nicely named, however the software is named Alexa — the name of their web analytics product. So one name for and device another for the assistant; a bit inelegant.

Enter Google Home.

Google has invested in a number of Internet Of Things (IOT) home products, the most obvious of which is Nest a nicely named device that monitors and controls thermostat, smoke alarm and surveillance. Google Home would have been an okay name had it been the first offering to market — a nice segue from its web search engine. But now, the timing is poor. It’s certainly an intuitive name and will act as a nice hub name for all other IOT devices, but lacks panache.

I suspect when speaking to the Google Home device you will simply say “Google, order me a pizza,” rather than “Home order me a Pizza” or “Google home, order me a pizza,” but the whole naming convention may have been better handled. One would expect more.

That aside, the home tech sector is heating up and it will be an exciting ride with lots of money exchanging hands.

I Googled “whatstheidea+google trivestiture” to see when I predicted Google would be split into 3 companies. Seems it was February 2010. According to yesterday’s news, “right pew wrong church.” Google is being reorganized — deconstructed into parts ,actually — but it won’t be at the hands of the gub-ment. It’s Google itself that will separate the company.

Alphabet will be launched as a brand new holding company. Google will continue on with search, YouTube, Android and apps (and Chrome?), all reporting to Alphabet. And smaller unique businesses such as Nest, Fiber, Google Ventures and Google X will stand alone – also reporting to Alphabet.

So divestiture is happening, just not as I predicted it. My trivestiture thought was all about monopoly breaking. This move is about business and accountability.

It doesn’t mean Google still can’t be broken apart, it just makes it a little less likely.

Nice move Messrs. Brin and Page.

I was wrong. Happy to admit it. Tear a stripe of my uniform. And ahead we shall march.

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